


Dark Matters

by damm_darcy



Category: Bright (2017)
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Elves, F/M, Fanfiction, Kandomere - Freeform, LAPD, Magic, Magic Wand, OCs - Freeform, Orcs, The Dark Lord - Freeform, daryl ward - Freeform, netflix, nick jakoby - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:29:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24919123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damm_darcy/pseuds/damm_darcy
Summary: Years after Daryl Ward and Nick Jakoby took down a small group of renegade elves, known as the Inferni, more have risen from their ashes. The Wand has been stolen right from under the noses of the Magic Task Force, much to the dismay of Special Agent Kandomere, an elven man who’d spent twenty years searching for it and hunting the elf who wield it.Now the Dark Lord is risen. The task proves to be difficult. Kandomere reaches out to Ward and Jakoby, but will they be able to assist as they have before? Or will Kandomere have to reach out to an old partner for this case?
Relationships: Kandomere (Bright)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. Prologue

The smell of fresh blood drifted through the halls of the Magic Task Force archives. Cold, lifeless bodies littered the floors, the walls and ceilings splattered and dripping with a morbid crimson. Not a single breath left.

A pale elven woman with shoulder length brown hair reached into the breast pocket of one of the slaughtered guards, retrieving a key card. She handed it to another elven woman. They spoke with their icy eyes and grinned, baring their sharp teeth. The two made their way toward the end of the wall to unlock the single sealed door in the corridor. Behind it lay the final tool needed to summon him. To summon the Dark Lord.

For years, the Inferni have trained, and killed, to aid in the returning of the all-powerful being who will bring horror and destruction to the world. The missing piece to reach their goal lay just within their reach.

“Open the door, Nadia,” the brown-haired elf spoke in _Övüsi_.

Nadia smiled and swiped the keycard. The door drew back automatically. The room was dark, the only light being emitted from the Wand that presented itself in the center of the room. Nadia stepped slowly toward the light, reaching a gloved hand to grip the glowing object. Power surged through her and the Wand as her fingers curled around it.

“Akila,” Nadia said. She turned to the blonde elf. Their eyes met.

It was finally time.


	2. Hard Day's Night

Kandomere paced circles around his office desk, leafing through papers of one of the many manila folders that crowded his work space. He’d been pacing for hours. His feet and legs hurt something awful, but nothing compared to the agonizing knowledge that over half a dozen security guards were slaughtered _and_ Leilah’s Wand was stolen. He should’ve known. Of course there would be more renegade elves wanting to raise the Dark Lord. He should’ve taken more precautions to protect the Wand.

Montehugh entered his partner’s office with a coffee in hand for him. His sixth of the night, to be exact. “Any luck?” he asked, handing the fresh brew to the elf.

“Would I still be here if there was?” Kandomere snapped. He wasn’t one to snap easily, but days of fruitless investigation and little sleep can take a toll on even the most patient of people. He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip, slightly wincing as the hot liquid scalded his tongue. Ignoring the pain, he set the coffee down on a short pile of papers and continued to lead through the ones in his hands.

Montehugh sighed. “Boss, it’s three in the morning. You’ve been here for nine days, running on caffeine and barely any sleep. Everyone can see it.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “And probably starting to smell it, too.”

Kandomere paused his leafing and stopped pacing, casting a sideways glare at his partner. _It’s not that bad, asshole_ , he thought. He inhaled subtly. _Oh_ … He set the files down.

“Go home, get some rest,” Montehugh said. It wasn’t a suggestion either. “If and when we find something, you need to be on your A-game.” He took Kandomere’s blazer from the coat rack that stood by the door, handing it to him. “Matter of fact, take the next couple days off. I’ll take over while you’re out and update you when we find something.”

“See to it that you do,” Kandomere huffed, shrugging on his blazer. The last thing he wanted to do was step away from his work, but Ulysses was right. He’d be good for jack shit if there was a breakthrough while he was in such condition.

So, for now, he’d take his partner’s advice and rest. That is, once he’s thoroughly gone through the files he’s tucked under his blazer. No disrespect to Montehugh, but Kandomere needed to be on this case at all times. The murdered guards, the Wand. They were all his responsibility.

~~~~~~~~~~

Three days have gone by. Still no word from Montehugh. Kandomere himself still hasn’t made any headway in the case. He sits in his bed in only his boxers, swearing to himself he’ll sleep after reading over one more file for the thousandth time. It’s two in the morning. His bed’s surface is littered with files and papers.

Kandomere threw the files in his hands onto the open bed next to him, groaning in frustration. Just before he decided to give in for the night, his phone pinged. He huffed irritably as he reached for his cell on the nightstand. _Montehugh_. A flutter rose in his belly. Please say you’ve found something. He opened the text.

**Our tech team was able to recover some of the security footage. I sent you the file via email. Do they look familiar?**

_Montehugh, you glorious bastard._ A smile grew on Kandomere’s face, but dropped just as quickly as he rushed to his laptop across the bedroom. Finally a breakthrough. Pushing the large office chair to the side, Kandomere opened his email. One new, from Montehugh. His stomach did flips as he opened the file.

~~~~~~~~~~

He sat at the edge of his bed, slumped and staring in disbelief at the paused footage. He wanted to puke.

Regrettably, Kandomere knew these elves. Not as they were now, but who they use to be. They were acquaintances of his from many years ago, before Ulysses became his partner. Back when his partner was…

_No. She’s not pertinent to this situation. Unless she’s involved as well…_ Kandomere groaned in frustration and hung his head, raking his hands through his cool blue locks. As much as he didn’t want her to be involved, he had to make sure. He couldn’t rule out any possibilities anymore.

He reached across his bed for his phone, dialing his current partner’s number. “I need you to run a check on someone,” he requested, then continued to give off information.

“Yes, sir,” Montehugh confirmed. When Kandomere remained quiet, Ulysses pushed a bit further, careful not to upset his boss. “Is there some kind of history with this person?”

Kandomere sighed. “Unless something comes up in the search that pertains to the case, nothing you need to worry about.” His voice came off a bit more stingy than intended. He knew Ulysses was only concerned.

“Of course.” He didn’t push anymore. “Anything else, boss?”

Kandomere chewed the skin around the nail of his thumb; an old stress habit he thought he’d quit years ago. “Call for those two LAPD officers. The ones who got roped into the Magic case with Leilah.”

“Officers Jakoby and Ward? The orc and human Bright?”

“Yes.”

“Sure thing.” Kandomere could hear the demeanor of his partner’s voice change. He understood the severity of the case. “Anything else?”

“That’s all for now,” Kandomere finished. “Good work, Ulysses. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow.”

“Good night, boss.”

He ended the call with Montehugh and fell back on the bed with a huff. Kandomere was always a confident man, but he’d be lying if he said the possibilities rising in this case didn’t leave him with a sinking feeling in his gut.

After what seemed like forever, exhaustion finally took over and Kandomere fell asleep where he lay.


	3. An Old Friend

“Man, I fucking hate Elf Town,” Daryl complained from the passenger seat of the police car.

Nick huffed a sigh, keeping his eyes on the road. “I’m aware. You say that every time we drive through.”

“Because I hate it every time!” Daryl groaned in disdain as he watched the expensively dressed elves go by. “Those Magic feds couldn’t come out to the station? It’s not like they ain’t been there before. They know where it is.”

“You read the email, Ward,” Jakoby reminded, glancing at his partner. “If they were to come out too close around the time of the Wand incident, people are gonna start suspecting things.”

“It’s been two years, man. And isn’t it suspicious that two LAPD officers, the ones who were involved with the Wand incident, are going to Magic Task Force HQ?”

Nick said nothing. He understood Daryl’s apprehension. After their traumatizing encounter with the Inferni, and the revelation that Daryl is a Bright, all he wanted was for things to go back to normal. or as close to normal as possible. No one knew about Daryl being a Bright except Nick and the two MTF agents, Kandomere and Montehugh. Not even his family knew.

“I can’t deal with this shit again, Nick,” Ward continued. “We almost died last time. You _did_ die.”

Nick grunted. He hated being reminded. The scar was reminder enough. “The sooner this is taken care of, the sooner we can go back to our normal lives.” He pondered for a moment. “Well, normal- _ish_.”

Daryl scoffed, and the rest of the ride was silent. Whatever it was the agents needed from them, he knew it was Magic related. And it was going to take a while.

~~~~~~~~~~

Although having gather as much information as possible for the moment, Kandomere paced his office once more with more files in hand. Perhaps he missed something. Another, a _different_ , elf involved, maybe not an elf at all? He was desperate for it to be someone else, _anyone_ besides-

The landline on his desk buzzed and he stopped pacing to answer.

“Agent, the LAPD officers are here,” a woman informed.

“Thank you, send them in.” He quickly shut the files away in his desk and sat in his chair as Jakoby and Ward entered.

“Thank you for coming out on such short notice,” he started as they sat. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I called for you in the first place.”

“something Magic related?” Daryl asked. He already knew the answer, yet he still so foolishly hoped otherwise.

Kandomere sighed. “The Wand was stolen.” Daryl and Nick stared in disbelief, so he opened his laptop to the security footage so they could see for themselves.

“Fuck…” Ward muttered, running a hand over his face. Kandomere nodded somberly as he shut the laptop. “So, what? You want us to go looking for it?”

“Of course not,” Kandomere reassured. “You two got lucky retrieving it from Leilah, and you only got accidentally roped into that one. You’ll get yourselves killed if I send you out purposely after these people.”

“Then what?”

Nick kicked his partner’s foot and shot him a warning look. Now was not the time to get an attitude. Daryl glared at Nick and rolled his eyes with a scoff.

Kandomere, although annoyed, kept his composure. “I need your assistance.” He handed them a background check sheet. “I have reason to believe this elven woman might be affiliated with the two in the footage.”

Nick handed Daryl the sheet. “Do you want us to bring her in for questioning?” he asked.

Kandomere shook his head as he stood from his desk, grabbing his car keys. “We’re going to go to her. We’ll take my car.” Anxiety hit him like a freight train the moment those words left his lips.

Daryl and Nick followed after him. “So we’re your muscle?” Daryl asked with an eyebrow raised. Kandomere said nothing and continued walking, earning a cocky grin from Ward. “Hear that, Nick? Big, bad Magic fed needs some bodyguards.”

“My partner, Montehugh is busy with gathering more information,” Kandomere spoke sternly, clearly annoyed. “And I need you because she’s a Bright. If she were to try any funny shit, I figured having another Bright may be useful.”

Daryl’s smug smile turned into a scowl at the reminder. He looked over to Nick who only shrugged in response. Daryl shook his head in displeasure as they reached Kandomere’s sleek, black 2020 Audi S7.

~~~~~~~~~~

The trio found themselves driving through East LA. It was more diverse with humans, orcs, centaurs, and many other creatures of the like. It’s also an area you’d least likely find an elf passing through, let alone living.

Daryl stared out the backseat window in confusion. “Some shit really must’ve gone down with her if she’s living out here.” He looked at Kandomere, who kept his eyes on the road ahead. Daryl’s worry was confirmed. “What happened?”

“That’s not pertinent to this, Officer Ward,” Kandomere answered firmly. “We’re to go in, get the information we need, and get out.” All the while praying that he could keep it at that.

Daryl and Nick didn’t buy into it. There was a history between him and this woman, but they knew better than to pry.

After another short while of silent driving, they arrived at their destination. They pulled into an apartment complex parking lot, taking an open space in front. Two orc children and one human child played in the grass, their parents socializing with each other on the patio. The orc father was the first to notice the car, very out of place in this part of the city. He stood from his seat and approached the three men as they exited the car.

“Good afternoon,” Nick greeted, feeling it was best that he took over for now. “This is Agent Kandomere, with the Magic Task Force. This is Officer Wa-”

“Officers Ward and Jakoby, with LAPD,” the orc resident finished.   
Yeah, I’ve heard about you guys. Especially you.” He held his hand out to Nick. “The name’s Markus.”

Nick smiled and shook his hand. Daryl and Kandomere gave each other a relieved glance. Perhaps this would go over easier than expected.

“So what can we do for you? You guys look like you’re far from home.” Markus asked.

Kandomere felt the question was more directed toward him, seeing that he was an elf and all. But he didn’t pay it any mind. “We’re looking Ynshael Cortez. Goes by ‘Shae’?”

Markus nodded with a chuckle. “Ah, I should’ve guessed. She sticks out like a sore thumb around here.” He turned toward the entrance and pointed them in the right direction. “Through that door, up the first flight of stairs, door on the right.”

Kandomere nodded in thanks before heading toward the door. 

“She’s not in trouble, is she?” Markus called after.

The three men stopped and turned back to face Markus. “Do you have relations with her?” Daryl asked.

Markus shrugged. “Her and I don’t talk much, but she’s good friends with my wife and she nannies the kids in the area. The kids definitely seem to love her.”

A moment of relief washed over Kandomere. Shae hadn’t been up to no good after all these years. Or so it seemed. Sadly, he still couldn’t rule he rout just based on a good word.

Kandomere nodded again. “Thank you.” He continued to the door, this time faster. Was it the anticipation to see her, or did he just want to get this over with? It had been over a decade since they’ve spoken, let alone seen each other. How much had she changed? Would she even remember him? The things they’d been through together? If she did, would she even _want_ to see him? They hadn’t exactly left off on good terms…

Before he knew it, the three of them stood just outside her door. Kandomere pushed aside the bothersome thoughts. This was business. But though it was such, he found himself paralyzed.

“Agent Kandomere?” Nick tried. Kandomere didn’t move. Daryl huffed in annoyance and knocked on the door himself, the sound shaking Kandomere from his stupor. 

The first thing they heard was a large dog barking, then a woman’s voice. “Titan, hush! I fucking swear, I never wanted to fight a dog before, but you’re testing my limits, dude.” The clicking of the locks coming undone could be heard from the other side. The door opened. “I love you, but seriously. Can I he-” She stopped the moment her icy blue eyes, smudged with eyeliner, caught Kandomere’s.

Kandomere felt a lump in his throat. It really was her. Wavy black to blond hair falling over her prominent collarbone, a grey, ripped up Metallica crop top hung loosely on her torso, falling off her shoulder. A pair of black spandex shorts hugged her full hips.

She was exactly the same, except… Different. She now sported multiple piercing on her ears, a piercing on one side of her button nose, and one decorating the center of her bottom lip, drawing attention to their plumpness. And so many tattoos… Yes, it was her, exactly the same, yet different.

Kandomere cleared he lump in his throat and pushed away years of suppressed feelings (and the rather new suppressed feeling in his trousers). “Hello, Shae,” he managed to speak as professionally as possible.

“No…” A knowing sharp-toothed grin grew on her face. “…way.” She propped her elbow on the doorway above her head and placed a hand on her hip. “Kandomere? Is that really you?”


End file.
